Absorbent tissue products such as facial tissues, bath tissues, paper towels and so forth have been used to absorb fluids on the skin and leave the skin dry. Frequent use of these products may, however, tend to irritate the skin over time. To reduce skin irritation, tissue products have included additives applied to the tissue surfaces to reduce or eliminate irritated skin during heavy use periods. The additives can enhance sheet softness perceptions by reducing the stiffness of the sheet, making it more drapeable, or by providing lubricity, helping the sheet glide across the surface of the skin.
In some embodiments, additives may be applied to the tissue product that are intended to be transferred to the user. For example, vitamins, plant extracts, medications, antimicrobial compounds, and the like may be applied to a tissue sheet in order to be transferred to a consumer upon use. Applying these compositions to a tissue or wiping product provides a certain level of convenience for the consumer.
For a benefit to be realized, however, a certain minimum amount of the composition must be transferred to a target surface for the composition to be efficacious. When the compositions are applied to tissue products, however, only a minimal amount of the total composition applied to the sheet is actually transferred to the target surface. Thus, tissue products containing a topical composition typically have a significantly poorer efficiency than when the composition is delivered in a bottled lotion that is applied to the skin separately from the tissue product. Efficiency here can be defined as the ratio of amount of the substance transferred to the target surface to the amount of composition applied to the applicator. In the case of a tissue treated with an additive the treated tissue becomes the applicator. In the case of a bottled product the applicator is the object used to transfer to the target surface and may be a finger, a hand, etc.
In addition, manufacturing systems for topically applying the beneficial compositions are typically designed to apply the composition over the entire sheet, although only a small area of the sheet is actually used to wipe the surface. Thus, much of the functional composition is wasted when the product is disposed. In addition, application of the composition across the entire surface of the wiping product may compromise other attributes of the tissue product, such as its ability to rapidly absorb and remove fluids, dirt, etc.
In view of the above, there is currently a need for a tissue product that is capable of delivering efficacious amounts of a beneficial composition to an adjacent surface, such as the user's skin. There is also a need for a tissue product containing a beneficial composition in which the composition does not compromise the inherent properties of the product, such as the wicking and absorption characteristics of the product.